Together we fall

07 | Ember

Ember stared at the man in shock.

Her father rarely spoke of his past, but she was aware that his last name used to be Sencen—before he married Ember's mother.

Her eyes widened. "You're—you're—"

"I'm what?" The man asked impatiently, giving her a cold stare.

Emerson was watching them, frozen in place.

"You—you're my grandfather," Ember finally managed.

The man scrutinized her with his eyes—which were the exact same color as hers.

He sighed. "You must be Ember."

"You know who I am?" Ember whispered.

She unconsciously slipped her hand into Emerson's, needing to hold onto something so she wouldn't fall over.

"Of course I do," Lord Cassius said with a snort.

"Why have I never met you?" Ember demanded as Emerson tightened his grip on her hand.

Lord Cassius grumbled under his breath, but didn't answer her question, just looked her up and down as if searching for her deepest secrets and her worst flaws.

Ember's nostrils flared. No wonder her father never talked about his parents. His father was an awful man. Her grandfather was an awful man. She could only wonder what his mom was like . . .

Footsteps approached behind them, and the three of them turned.

Ember's parents were standing in the hall, glaring at Lord Cassius with fury and . . . Hate?

She didn't even think that her parents could feel that emotion. But the way their jaws clenched and their eyes flamed told her otherwise.

Ember's dad walked over to her and placed an arm protectively around her shoulders. "What are you doing here?" He asked Lord Cassius coldly, each word stone hard.

"Nice to see you too, son."

Ember's mother was glaring daggers at Lord Cassius's back, her eyes narrowed in scrutiny.

Emerson's hand slipped from her grip and he backed away, looking like he didn't want to get involved in this mess.

Ember couldn't blame him.

"What. Are. You. Doing. Here?" Her father asked again, his grip tightening around her shoulders.

"I came to meet my grandchildren," Lord Cassius said, crossing his arms across his chest.

"After 14 years?" Ember's mother snapped, drawing Lord Cassius's attention to her.

"Ah, Miss Foster," He said with another sigh. "Shame that you didn't change your last name to Sencen after you married my son."

"Keefe never deserved that horrible last name," she said, a dark edge to her voice. "And you never deserved him."

A laugh echoed down the hallway as Ace ran down it. "Dad!" He yelled, approaching them. "Look what I—"

He stopped talking when he saw Lord Cassius.

"You must be Ace," Lord Cassius said, not smiling. "I see he has your personality, Keefe."

"Woah," Ace said. "Back the t-Rex up. Who are you?"

He tried to walk closer, but Ember's mother grabbed his arm firmly and held him back.

Ace stared at him. "Are you . . . ?"

"Yes," Lord Cassius said with a greasy smile that sent cold tingles up Ember's spine, "I'm your grandfather."

For once in his life, Ace looked utterly speechless. He opened his mouth, but his lips couldn't seem to form the shape of words. Instead his mouth hang open, slack jawed at the sight of Lord Cassius.

Finally, Ace's mouth closed before he asked, "What's your name?"

"You don't want to call me grandpa?" Lord Cassius said with a sigh that almost seemed humorous. When Ace shook his head he said, "Lord Cassius."

"Cassius?" Ace said with a laugh. "Can I call you Cassy?"

Lord Cassius's eyes flamed.

"Or," Ace went on, oblivious to the fire building in his grandfather's eyes, "I could call you Sius!"

Ember expected one of her parents to reprimand Ace for being so impolite, but her father almost looked like he was enjoying the disrespect to his father.

"Strange eyes," Lord Cassius shot at Ace, changing the subject before he could lose his cool. "Just like your mother."

Ember wanted to punch him in the gut for saying such awful sentiments. Her dad looked like he wanted to as well.

Ace crossed his arms. "Are you jealous?"

Lord Cassius laughed hollowly. "No. I much prefer being normal, thank you very much."

Ember's dad had to restrain her. She suddenly felt the urge to toss this man off a cliff, preferably the ones at Havenfield—the mansion where her amazing set of grandparents lived.

She felt a small tug in her gut and felt the blood rush to her head, making her woozy and disorienting her vision. Her father steadied her before she could fall over, but she still felt like she was going to black out.

She shakily raised her head.

Lord Cassius was lying on the floor, screaming bloody murder as he convulsed. His hands were pressed to his temples, rubbing them intensely.

Ember's mom stared at her father-in-law, then glanced at Ember, terror etched across her face.

Ember's father was shaking her, first gently, then harder, desperate. "Ember! Ember?"

Ace and her mother rushed to her sides. Ember tried to see through the headache that was pounding in her brain. Everything hurt. Every fiber of her being felt like it was being shredded.

And then . . .

Her father took her hand and a cool blue breeze rushed through her mind, calming her frantic emotions and clearing her migraine.

She looked up at her family, who were staring at her, scared. Lord Cassius was lying on the floor in a heap, his eyes rolled back in his head.

"What happened?" Ember asked in a whisper.

Her mother swallowed. "You manifested."

Ember's gut clenched. "As a what?"

Ember's mother and father shared a look before her mom said, "An inflictor."